Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 2,617 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,753 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,617 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $8,527,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,991,697 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $978,864,000 after purchasing an additional 127,597 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.6% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,741,639 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $284,532,000 after purchasing an additional 407,929 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,736,466 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $283,686,000 after buying an additional 401,138 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $212,107,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 44.9% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,256,734 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $205,317,000 after buying an additional 389,548 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.39, for a total transaction of $7,258,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 806,537 shares in the company, valued at $167,267,708.43. This trade represents a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 767 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.16, for a total transaction of $157,357.72. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,236 shares in the company, valued at $2,715,497.76. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 65,767 shares of company stock worth $12,802,440. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $202.00 to $188.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. UBS Group set a $175.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $206.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $200.76.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 0.2%

WSM stock opened at $204.82 on Tuesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $130.07 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The firm has a market cap of $24.45 billion, a PE ratio of 22.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.58. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $189.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $191.67.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.10% and a net margin of 14.30%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.04%.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

Williams‑Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on the home and culinary markets, best known for premium cookware, kitchen tools and home furnishings. The company traces its roots to a single cookware store founded by Chuck Williams in 1956 in Sonoma, California, and has evolved into a multi‑brand home furnishings and housewares business. Its merchandise mix spans cookware and kitchen electrics, tabletop and food prep items, furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accessories designed for both everyday use and higher‑end interiors.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands that target distinct segments of the home market.